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Many people feel a little anxious if they forget their phone but some suffer from nomophobia - "no mobile phone phobia" - a serious fear of being disconnected.
Macquarie University psychologist Wayne Warburton says smartphones, tablets, computers and TVs can all fuel screen overuse, but phones are particularly problematic because of their constant presence in our lives.
Associate Professor Warburton recently published a paper that found up to three per cent of young Australians could have internet gaming disorder, an affliction associated with screen addiction.
"For most of us, this is not an addiction or a disorder," he said on Tuesday.
"It's a habit that we've developed, but one that's having a real impact on our lives."
The problem is that screens and apps are designed to distract.
"They're giving us lots of little dopamine hits. But they never reward us with that eventual feeling of satisfaction that stops a behaviour, so we keep scrolling," Prof Warburton said.
"There's always the promise of something better just out of reach."
When we're not using them, they try to draw us back with notifications that distract us.
Brain imaging of people with severe screen overuse shows a drop-off in brain activity in certain areas.
"The longer this goes on, the greater the effect on our ability to focus and pay attention," Prof Warburton said.
While two-minute social media videos used to retain attention, that's too long now.
"That's why platforms like TikTok are so popular," he said.
PhD candidate Michoel Moshel is studying the effects of screen overuse on cognition which not only impacts attention but higher order thinking skills, like problem solving and impulse control.
He recommends self imposed breaks from technology like getting rid of notifications from your phone, removing your phone from your desk, charging it overnight in another room and taking time to read a book instead of scrolling social media.
"Think of your attention span as a muscle that hasn't been exercised," Prof Warburton said.
"Building it up will take time, but it can be done."
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The Queensland premier says a summit on the state's housing crisis next month is the first step in dealing with the problem intensified by mass migration from interstate.
The summit comes almost a year after it was first proposed by social services, charities, local governments, property and employer groups and construction companies.
Roundtable talks to plan for the gathering are due to be held on Friday.
Annastacia Palaszczuk says the summit will consider land supplies and social housing, but all options are on the table.
"This is a very good first start," she told reporters on Tuesday.
"I want Queenslanders to understand I recognise that this is an issue.
"In a modern economy where we have one of the fastest growth of the economy in the nation, you know, it is a shock to see people living out of their cars or not being housed.
"But this is a big job, and we are going to start this by bringing everyone together this Friday, and then of course, the housing summit."
Ms Palaszczuk said mass migration was putting pressure on housing with 50,000 people moving to Queensland from interstate this year already.
Some 220,000 people are planning to move there from Sydney and Melbourne in the next five years, according to Property Council of Australia research released last week.
The premier said plans by the federal government to increase the intake of international migrants will add to pressure.
She also wants to ensure social housing like that provided to her own family will continue to be available to people in need.
"My grandfather came out here as part of skilled migration and they were initially housed in a camp at Wacol, which is now affordable housing for families until they were able to be placed into housing," Ms Palaszczuk said.
"My grandfather always said to me, 'There's nothing more important than having a roof over a person's head'. I absolutely understand those issues."
The Queensland Council of Social Services, the Local Government Association of Queensland, the Property Council of Australia, Q Shelter and Master Builders Queensland will take part in Friday's talks.
QCOSS chief executive Aimee McVeigh said next month's summit must result in a tangible plan being drawn up to deliver enough housing for those in need.
About 5000 social homes need to be built annually for the next 10 years to keep up with demand, she said.
QCOSS also wants the government's Housing Investment Fund to be expanded, more investment in infrastructure to support housing developments in the regions, and existing housing stock to be repurposed, rebuilt and reused.
"By the 2032 Olympics every Queenslander should have a place they can call home," Ms McVeigh said in a statement.
There is a severe shortage of homes in Queensland, with 27,437 households on the waiting list for government housing, and tight private rental vacancy rates.
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The Queensland government will hold a summit on the state's housing crisis next month with social services groups calling for a plan to house every person within a decade.
The summit comes almost a year after it was first proposed by social services, charities, local governments, property and employer groups and construction companies.
Roundtable talks to plan for the gathering are due to be held on Friday.
Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk says ministers, the Brisbane mayor and lobby groups will discuss land supply and social housing issues during the meeting.
"Nothing is more important than having a roof over your head - it's a basic need - and the stories of people without secure housing are heartbreaking," she said in a statement on Tuesday.
"Affordable housing is critical to maintaining our great Queensland lifestyle.
"Many of the causes of the increased housing costs are national and need national solutions.
"All levels of government have a role to play in improving the current housing situation."
The Queensland Council of Social Services, the Local Government Association of Queensland, the Property Council of Australia, Q Shelter and Master Builders Queensland will also attend Friday's talks.
QCOSS chief executive Aimee McVeigh said the summit has to result in a tangible plan being drawn up to deliver enough housing for those in need.
About 5000 social homes need to be built annually for the next 10 years to keep up with demand, she said.
QCOSS also wants the government's Housing Investment Fund to be expanded, more investment in infrastructure to support housing developments in the regions, and existing housing stock to be repurposed, rebuilt and reused.
"By the 2032 Olympics every Queenslander should have a place they can call home," Ms McVeigh said in a statement.
"Right now, working Queenslanders and families are living in tents, women and children are returning to domestic violence relationships, and elderly people are sleeping on couches, because there is nowhere for else them to go."
There is a severe shortage of homes in Queensland, with 27,437 households on the waiting list for government housing, and tight private rental vacancy rates.
Pressure is increasing because the volume of people moving to Queensland from other states is rising.
Some 220,000 people plan to move there from Sydney and Melbourne in the next five years, according to Property Council of Australia research released last week.
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Emmy Awards host Kenan Thompson and the ceremony's producers are promising a feel-good event - a phrase not applicable to several of the top nominated shows.
The best drama contenders include the violently dystopian Squid Game, bleak workplace satire Severance, and Succession - about a powerful and cutthroat family.
Even multi-award winner and comedy nominee Ted Lasso took a storytelling dark turn.
But after several pandemic-constrained awards seasons, Monday's 74th Primetime Emmy Awards (from 8pm Monday EDT, 10am Tuesday AEST) will be big and festive, executive producers Reginald Hudlin and Ian Stewart said.
The pair are actually taking a leaf from last year's scaled-down ceremony and its club-style table seating for nominees.
"They had a ball. They had a party. They celebrated themselves," Stewart said, recalling a comment made by actor Sophia Bush at the evening's end: "Oh, my God, I actually had fun at the Emmys".
The tables will be back and again reserved for nominees - and their "significants", Stewart said - but there will be some 3000 other guests seated traditionally in the temporarily reconfigured 7000-seat Microsoft Theater in downtown Los Angeles.
"When the nominees are having a great time that translates on screen," Hudlin said, citing the "passionate, touching" speeches delivered by winners.
Thompson, the veteran Saturday Night Live cast member taking his first turn as Emmys host, said he wants to enjoy the ceremony and make sure others do, too.
"This should be a night of appreciating artistry and creativity and removing the stress of it all out. I get it - it sucks to lose, and everybody's picking outfits and trying to do the red carpet thing," Thompson said.
"But at the same time, it's an awesome thing to be in the room on Emmys night, and I don't want that to get lost in the stress."
Thompson said he does not expect anything mirroring the Will Smith-Chris Rock confrontation that cast a shadow over the Oscars earlier this year.
Although HBO's Succession, which won the best drama series award in 2020, and Ted Lasso from Apple TV+ are considered the frontrunners for top series honours, there's potential for surprises.
Netflix's Squid Game, a global sensation, would be the first non-English language drama series to win an Emmy.
On the comedy side, ABC's acclaimed newcomer Abbott Elementary could become the first broadcast show to win the best comedy award since the network's Modern Family in 2014.
It is also among the few contenders this year, along with Squid Game, to field a substantial number of nominees of colour.
At the Emmy creative arts ceremonies held earlier this month, the mockumentary-style show about educators in an underfunded Philadelphia school, won the trophy for outstanding comedy series casting.
Succession, for which Australian Sarah Snook is nominated in the best supporting actress category, won the drama series casting award.
Other Australian nominees include Toni Collette, for The Staircase, and Murray Bartlett, for The White Lotus.
The Crown, last year's big winner, was not in the running this time because it sat out of the Emmys eligibility period.
The dramatised account of Queen Elizabeth's reign and family life will return for its fifth season in November, as Britain mourns the loss of its longest-serving monarch who died last week at the age of 96.
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